Episode 48
It was an exceedingly simple question.
But unable to answer it, Sallet could only stand there blankly.
Now that she thought about it, she had never asked him.
And she recalled that he hadn't asked for her name, either.
‘Could it be that he truly thinks of someone like me as nothing but a burden?’
At that thought, Sallet grew anxious.
Feeling her self-esteem gradually crumble, she stepped back.
“Hey, answer the ques—.”
And instead of answering Ash's question, she chose to flee.
She ran into the forest that Ifrit had pointed out.
Gasping for breath, she cast her eyes about to find him.
At last, she found the place where his voice was coming from.
“I see.”
Passing through the dense trees and arriving at a clearing, she could see Loki not far away.
R-right, I should ask him directly.
It’s not too late to know now!
It was only a brief companionship, but still… she found herself wanting to know him.
Because when she had wandered alone on this continent, he was the only one who had saved her and shown her kindness.
Just as her expression brightened and she tried to approach him—
“Wh…o…?”
Someone was beside Loki.
From afar, the figure wore a leather hood like a tattered rag.
Rather than appearing old and shabby, it looked as if holes had been deliberately punched and torn.
The figure knelt as if revering Loki and accepted the tightly rolled scroll that Loki held out.
‘What? Who could it be, that they would…’
…go so far?
It closely resembled the retainers who had served her father when she was in the palace.
“Deliver this to Aum Rinia.”
The figure bowed its head and stepped back. Its entire body turned transparent before spewing black currents and vanishing.
‘It disappeared?!’
For her, who was seeing an undead—a Skeleton Assassin with specialized stealth techniques—for the first time, it was a truly astonishing sight.
“…What's going on?”
When Loki turned his head and spoke, Sallet finally came to her senses and glanced about in a fluster. Then, recalling an excuse, she opened her mouth.
“Ah… I-I was asking where the human we brought yesterday is….”
Elves couldn't tell lies. That was merely a rumor on the continent. The truth was different.
“Is that so? We'll head out shortly.”
Loki approached Sallet.
“How many herbs do you have?”
At Loki's question, Sallet opened the leather bag she carried on her back.
That too was something Loki had given her, but unlike his other items, it was an ordinary leather bag with no special functions.
“Well… a little… no, I have plenty left.”
They were what Alex had given her, combined with what she had gathered in her spare time.
“Is your leg alright?”
“Huh? Ah… yes!”
Sallet was overjoyed that he showed interest in her.
She nodded vigorously.
“If you have no use for the remaining herbs, could you lend them to me?”
“…I don't mind. I received them in the first place.”
“Thank you.”
“…….”
Could it be her imagination that a corner of her chest swelled with pride at his words?
Perhaps she could be of some help to him, even if only a little.
“We also need supplies, so let's go to a nearby territory. I'll have to pose as a herbalist there.”
“…Pose as a herbalist?”
“Having a proper status, even a false one, is more convenient than having none.”
It would still be better than being mistaken for a mere Norden.
“Ah, I understand.”
Just as Loki was about to walk away, Sallet grabbed his collar.
“……?”
“Your name.”
Swallowing dryly, Sallet mustered her courage and spoke.
“What is your name?”
“…That's right, I hadn't asked. My name is Loki.”
Loki….
Sallet repeated his name.
“What is your name?”
“I'm Sallet.”
Loki patted Sallet's head once and headed toward the campsite.
***
“…You're heading to Harma Territory?”
Ash looked at Loki.
Harma Territory was currently without a lord; in other words, it was masterless land. Thus, knights were managing the territory in their stead.
The reason it lacked a lord was simple. The previous lord had died of illness, and before the next lord could be decided, a civil war had broken out.
Because it had no lord, it was nominally a neutral region, but for First Prince Ash, it was a place that could become a “danger zone.”
‘Can I trust the knights there?’
Many knights were blinded by the desire for merit.
Especially since Harma Territory was located at the edge of the kingdom, adjacent to the Frozen Land.
The Kelt Mountains lay to its side, and the Frozen Land lay above it, making it a place with frequent monster incursions and cold weather.
For this reason, it was not a very good place for knights who dreamed of honor. Most wanted to somehow earn merit and escape that backwater.
The best way to rise in status was to earn merit. Thus, there was a high chance they would try to capture the forces of the ‘traitor,’ especially the ‘prince’ at their center, to earn that merit.
Ash knew this as well, which was why he couldn't recklessly enter other regions to ask for help.
And so….
“Can we not go somewhere else?”
He wanted to take the longest detour possible to head for Roden Territory.
But….
“We can only reach Roden Territory quickly by passing through this Harma Territory, no?”
The fastest route was none other than the path leading to this Harma Territory.
“…….”
Ash wanted to reach Roden Territory more quickly than anyone.
Moreover, since he couldn't reveal his identity, he was in no position to give orders to Loki.
‘As long as my identity isn't discovered… it should be fine.’
“F-fine.”
“Then, let us head to Harma Territory.”
He decided to follow Loki's opinion.
***
The Frozen Land of the North.
The newborn nation of Asgard had been founded for over three years.
As they, who had lived a tribal life, unified into one, many things had changed.
First and foremost, for the stability of the nation, the Norden had to be controlled, regulated, and managed.
They created laws to control them, assigned administrators who could regulate them, and established a management system in each region capable of serving the role of a city.
Was that all? Since a new nation had been born, a new class system was also created.
Asgard's class system was different from the one used on the continent.
At the very top existed Loki, the Throne of Sin. Next were the Healer Hun, Shaman—Proxy of the Norden, Aum Rinia, and Hans, followed by Kudan Ragna and Per Rinia, and those who had been tribal chieftains sat equally as ‘Elders,’ with none above or below.
However, unofficially, Kancun also belonged to the highest power structure.
The reason such a unique power structure could be formed was due to Loki's absolute might, the small number of Norden in the Frozen Land, and the high loyalty the Norden held for Loki.
Usually, the local lords of newborn nations would often become corrupt the moment they seized power.
Enchanted by newly obtained power, they lost control and did not hesitate to trample the weak to display their authority.
In its early days, Asgard had not been much different.
Being hot-tempered and impatient by nature, it was not uncommon for them to become twisted by greed once the nation was established and power was in their hands.
Especially when combined with the tribal nature of showing off strength within this unique power structure, unofficial fights often broke out.
However, as a result, at a single word from the ‘Throne,’ even chieftains called ‘Elders’ would immediately be beheaded and hung somewhere, or face the severe punishment of being exposed to the Frozen Land for over a month with only water to drink.
Before cruel punishments and divine authority, they were properly controlled, and major conflicts no longer arose.
A nation with little corruption and no conflict was incomparably peaceful.
But even so….
Leading a nation was no easy task.
“…Has the next task come in?”
Shaman unfurled the parchment.
It contained densely packed work details, and the eye muscles of Aum—who sat on the throne fulfilling the role of ‘Proxy’—twitched.
Dark shadows lurked heavily beneath his eyes, and his hair had long since become dry and brittle.
“…How many remain?”
In Aum's left hand was a quill, and in his right hand was a special seal crafted by the dwarf Leran.
He currently sat in the seat of the highest authority, handling affairs in Loki's stead, but due to a hellish routine of twenty hours of continuous work, four hours of sleep, then another twenty hours of work, he wanted to leave this position more than anyone else.
In Loki's case, he didn't accumulate fatigue even without sleep, but Aum was human, and even though he was a Norden, he didn't possess the monstrous stamina of someone like Kudan, so he couldn't help but feel the limits of his strength.
“…….”
Shaman said nothing and pointed to the entrance of the Great Hall with his finger.
There, documents were piled up like a mountain.
Aum burst into laughter.
Ha, hahaha! Are you trying to kill me with this?!
“Do you think Aum Rinia of all people would collapse from mere paperwork? Huh?”
Just as he let out a mad laugh and was going insane, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Kudan and Per entered carrying a wooden tray filled with the next batch of documents.
“…And these are letters sent from each tribe. We ask that you check them.”
In that instant, the quill Aum was holding snapped.
“…What happened to Lord Hans?”
“Did you forget? He collapsed from overwork yesterday. He was treated with magic, but he still hasn't regained consciousness. I suppose if he gets a little rest, he'll wake up soon.”
“There is so much work, so please help me, Shaman.”
“…I can't see.”
It was a lie. He was certain of it!
Otherwise, there was no way he could point so precisely at that pile of documents or avoid his gaze, was there?!
When Aum looked at Kudan and Per, they too averted their gazes.
“I'm not particularly bright, you see. Especially when it comes to politics or economics….”
That was what Kudan said.
“…Brother, don't you know? I've only just learned to read and write.”
That was what Per said.
Aum clutched his throbbing head.
‘This is why Norden are the problem!’
In this Frozen Land, the newborn Asgard had outstanding warriors, craftsmen surpassing any on the continent, and enormous resources and wealth.
These were things any nation would envy, but their weakness was a severe lack of intellectuals.
No matter how strong the national power, no matter how outstanding the blacksmiths, no matter how much wealth there was, what was the point? If they couldn't manage them properly, it would be better not to have them at all!
Most Norden had lived lives of plunder and starvation, so they lacked education. Thus, there was also a lack of intellectuals to manage the country.
They had at least used refugees who came from the continent to teach the Elders to read and write, but it was still far too insufficient to manage a nation.
Because of this, there were far too few people to entrust with administration.
‘But I can't just entrust this to outsiders from the continent willy-nilly, can I? This… I'll have to request Lord Loki later to pick out intellectuals from among the refugees. It's worrying, but if I leave aside this mountain of work, it will only lead to greater chaos!’
Just as Aum was shaking his head.
Black currents flowed out right beside him, and an undead wearing a hood appeared.
“……?”
It was Loki's minion. It was also the skeleton that had vanished from Valhalla Palace at the same time Loki had run away.
Aum was bewildered when such a skeleton suddenly appeared.
Unlike the courtesy it had shown Loki, the skeleton took no action toward Aum.
Since it wasn't before its master, it felt no need to show a human such courtesy.
The skeleton held out a sheet of parchment from within its robes.
“What is this…?”
The skeleton conveyed its meaning using sign language.
“You say Lord Loki sent this?”
The skeleton nodded and disappeared.
For Aum, who had been searching for Loki's whereabouts, this was joyous news.
Could it be that he is returning?!
With a joyful heart, Aum read the contents inside. His bright expression slowly hardened, and he crumpled the letter in his hand.
‘…He's still wandering the continent. But has he found some clues? The underworld… I've heard of them. Certainly, if it's them, they would have far better information than us… But his final destination is Roden Territory, and he's currently heading to Harma Territory?’
Aum read down the page.
At the end was the phrase: ‘If you have found any information regarding the plague, send it to me.’
“…Hah, this is something.”
In the end, it meant he had no intention of returning.
“But asking me to send what I've found… I haven't found any such information.”
Just as Aum Rinia crossed his arms.
The doors to the Great Hall opened, and a Norden soldier bowed his head in courtesy.
“…I greet Shaman, Proxy of the Norden, and Aum Rinia!”
“What is it?”
“A letter has arrived from the continent.”
This time, it was a letter from a Norden Loki had dispatched to the continent to gather information.
Aum received and read the letter.
There didn't seem to be anything special. However, there was one thing that caught his eye.
[An estimated 1,500-plus Worm Plague infectees are currently heading toward Harma Territory.]
…was what the phrase said.